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The Boston Celtics have already retooled their front office led by the promotion of Brad Stevens to be the president of basketball operations along with the hiring of new head coach Ime Udoka. However, they still have work to do as they need to fill out the holes in their roster after the first week of NBA free agency.
Celtics Free Agency
As of the moment, their biggest need remains to be the starting point guard position, especially after they traded away Kemba Walker in the offseason. Though he is a four-time All-Star, the 31-year-old didn't get to maximize his stay in Boston due to a major knee injury that haunted him over the past two seasons.
After dealing Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Celtics also failed to make noise in the 2021 NBA Draft with their lone draft selection in the second round. With the 45th pick, they nabbed a raw prospect in Juhann Begarin who played in France's LNB Pro B prior to making the move to the NBA. At 19 years old, the youngster will have to adjust to the style of play in the States and might take more time before he can contribute for the Celtics on a consistent basis.
Boston also missed out on notable free agents who could've handled the playmaking duties for the team. Veteran guard Patty Mills could've been a useful asset for them, especially after his impressive performance in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as the leader of the Australian Boomers. However, they were beaten by the Brooklyn Nets who managed to land Mills on a bargain two-year deal.
Lonzo Ball, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, and Spencer Dinwiddie are also some of the names that the Celtics could've tried to acquire in free agency. To make things worse, the team fell short in trying to retain the services of Evan Fournier who recently had a stellar stint for the French national team in the Olympic games.
Though he only spent a short time with the Celtics, he was able to provide much-needed scoring and playmaking with averages of 13.0 points and 3.1 assists in 16 games played. Fournier eventually chose to relocate to the New York Knicks where he was signed to a four-year, $78 million deal.
As of the moment, the Celtics still have a reliable vet in Marcus Smart who can produce on both ends of the floor. Backing him up is an incoming sophomore in Payton Pritchard who showed flashes of his potential during his rookie season. In addition, the Celtics also acquired Kris Dunn in a three-team trade but there are still question marks about the type of impact that he can bring to the squad, especially after failing to be consistent during his previous stints with the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen if the combination of those three players will be enough to sustain the Celtics, especially in such a crucial position on the floor. On that note, the team can either choose to add more depth behind them or find a player who is good enough to be the regular starting point guard next season.
After missing out on some of the best available talents in the first week of free agency, Udoka and company will definitely have to move fast and beat the clock if they want to find the right man for the job before heading to the 2021-22 season.
